Students earned a reward for filling up the class marble jar! They chose to create new objects with recycled items. This was inspired by the research we are doing in our Recycling science unit. We were able to use the Maker Space room for this project and the abundant supplies of recycled items it contained. Students had a choice of using water bottles, cardboard shoe boxes, and Popsicle sticks. They discussed their ideas and then started creating! Our projects consisted of guitars, bird feeders, piggy banks, tents, doghouses, and even miniature furniture. Below are some pictures of the students working on this project.

Students are practicing procedures, strategies and appropriate reading behaviors during workshop time.·

Students are practicing ways they can respond to text on a post-it as they read. They can jot a connection, a prediction, a Big Idea, a summary, inference or a thought or question. These jots help them keep track and monitor their reading for response questions, reflections and for their conversations in book clubs.·

Students are using sentence starters to help them write their post-its. They know to state their idea and then to include the evidence.

Writer’s Workshop

Students are writing about true stories in their writing journals. They are creating lists of story topics and ideas by thinking of the people who are important in their lives and the places that matter to them.

They are learning how to stretch out their stories and elaborate to make them more entertaining.

Students are encouraged to use the five senses to add details as well as figurative language to enhance their writing.

We have been writing stories on Storybird.com, which is a site that uses artwork to help inspire writing. These will soon be published on our class website.

Math Workshop

Students are reviewing place value. They are also learning about estimation and rounding. We have been working on a variety of strategies to help up round numbers to the nearest ten and hundred.

Students are reviewing basic math facts in addition and subtraction. This is a continuation of last year’s work.

Students are rotating through centers. They are working in strategy groups, on the computers and engaged in practice activities/games to reinforce new concepts.

Math Homework: There will be times your child will bring home their math folder. In these folders will be math anchor charts for new concepts or strategies. When these come home, have your child review them with you. Please make sure your child brings them back the next day as we use them in school and add to them often.

Science

We are learning about Recycling. Students are exploring the various ways we can help our environment by using the 3Rs, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

Students are learning about Earth’s natural resources and how we need to protect them